Search - Usher :: Raymond v. Raymond

"AND I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS.....

D THRILL | PG County, MD | 04/02/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Where do I begin with the expectations I had for "Raymond Vs Raymond". After the grown man sound of "Here I Stand" and two albums removed from the classic "Confessions", I expected a good combination of the two. With Usher going through a divorce and this supposedly being a return to his roots, this album was built up to be great. I should have paid attention to the signs. (The album being pushed back, the lack of record company support) These should have been red flags to me when thinking of buying this album. But of course I ignored them because I am a fan and enjoyed the last two albums. Now I'm confused.



"Here I Stand" showed Usher's maturation into a respectable singer, not just a performer."Raymond Vs Raymond" is Usher's return to being the entertainer he once was. This album is heavy on dance songs and low on R&B. The will.I.am produced song "OMG" is horrible.(I don't know how this guy keeps getting work). I'm not into the techno-dancehall thing so "Monstar" is not for me. And it seems Usher forgot how old he is on "So Many Girls" & "Pro Lover", save those songs for Chris Brown or Omarion. But all is not bad with this album. The single "Hey Daddy" actually had me hyped to hear this album. "Lil Freak" ft Nicki Minaj is another banger produced by Polow Da Don. "There Goes My Baby" is a smooth mid tempo track. The JD produced "Foolin' Around" is solid. But for an album called "Raymond Vs Raymond", the only song referring to his divorce is the lead single "Papers". (Now Usher says the title is about the battle within himself. Kind of like T.I. vs T.I.P.) So the title is very misleading.



Maybe it was my expectations that made this album a major disappointment. Maybe I held Usher to a higher standard than where he needed to be. He was on superstar status but now he is struggling to stay relevant in the male R&B game. Usher should have made a decision on this album. He should have gone either all dance or mature R&B. Instead he made a collage of different sounds that don't fit well together. Its sounds like a rushed album even though it was supposed to be released in December. I'm still waiting for him to be consistent with his style. I thought he was on the right track with "Here I Stand" but now he has taken a huge step back and made his worst album to date.

"

Had high hopes, and was a bit let down

NPMusicman | Hauppauge, NY | 04/16/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Usher is a great singer and performing/recording artist, and with this album's singles, I really expected better. I really got into "Papers," "Hey Daddy," "Little Freak," and "There Goes My Baby" (which should have been a much bigger hit). Then I heard "OMG," and thought, "oookay.. typical will.I.am bullsh**." I bought it anyway based on the other songs. This is a mixed bag of an album. "Monstar" was... odd lol. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but I liked it at times. I don't like most of the up-tempo and electronic joints very much (OMG, She Don't Know, Okay), and I thought So Many Girls and Pro Lover were kinda juvenile for Usher, especially after Here I Stand. I liked Foolin Around and Guilty and Making Love Into the Night though, definitely. So for me, the album was half and half. It's not bad, but it's not really good. Out of all the dance, electronic stuff, WHY was "More" left off the album??? Of all the songs to cut, jeez.. Anyway, I still think the best R&B album I've heard recently is Trey Songz Ready. I thought this album was going to be some kind of cross between Confessions and Here I Stand and progressing from there. I don't know. If you're really an Usher fan, it's worth copping, but it's definitely not his strongest effort."

Nice album

Jason Cleveland | 03/31/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a Usher fan and after his last cd I was a little scared about what he was going to come with but this cd is nice not his best but very entertaining."